A Gimpse Of Bliss
by versusthequeer
Summary: Laura Hollis is your average, college girl. She doesn't think she can make a difference or change the world. That is, until she meets Carmilla Karnstein, the alluring bartender who mysteriously disappears one night. Human AU
1. I: Meeting Carmilla

**Title:** A Glimpse Of Bliss  
 **Rating:** M  
 **Summary:** Laura Hollis is your average, college girl. She doesn't think she'll ever make a difference or change the world. That is, until she meets Carmilla Karnstein, an alluring bartender who mysteriously disappears one night. Human AU  
 **A/N:** First installation of my first Carmilla FanFiction! Enjoy

* * *

If there's one thing Laura Hollis absolutely, positively DID NOT do, it was speed dating. So, how she ended up at a local bar during their speed dating hour is beyond her. Oh, right… Because her roommates practically dragged her here by her hair.

When they were leaving the apartment, with Laura protesting very loudly that speed dating was just a exploitation and all around stupid, Perry and LaFontaine were rolling their eyes and yelling at her to shut the fuck up and to suck it up. They went on to rant about how Laura needed to get out because she's done nothing but mope around the apartment in her pajamas, clutching onto her coffee mug like the world was going to end, and constantly complain about her ex-girlfriend, Danny. Needless to say, they were sick of it.

Despite all of Laura's yelling and protesting, the pair managed to dress her like a decent human being and drag her out of the apartment they had now titled "The Pity Pit."

They stood in line at the bar, twelve minutes before speed dating started. They figured getting alcohol into Laura's system would help loosen up the uptight, short brunette. Well, at least, that's what they were hoping.

The line was moving quickly, and before they knew it, they had made it to the bar.

"What can I get you ladies?" A raspy voiced bartender asks, smiling at them.

Laura still looks completely unamused and raged at her friends who push her forward so that the bartender could hear her better. Lauren mutters something along the lines of 'you guys are fucking assholes', and continues staring everywhere but the bar.

"We'll take… two Adios Motherfuckers," LaFontaine says, gesturing towards themselves and Perry.

Laura's still looking around, huffing as LaFontaine nudges her side. She gives her friend a 'what the fuck do you want' look before adverting her eyes towards her ginger friend who was nodding towards the bartender.

"And for you, cutie?" The bartender rasps out.

Laura finally looks at the sound of the bartender's voice and her breathing hitches. This bartender was absolutely stunning. "Uh…" Laura stutters out, internally slapping herself for acting so stupid, "Can I get a shot of Jack?"

"Sure thing, cupcake," The raven haired girl says as she winks at Laura.

If Laura could instantly be resuscitated, she's pretty sure that wink would have killed her. Laura watches as the bartender makes LaFontaine's and Perry's drinks with ease, all while pouring her shot.

"Uhm, how much do we owe you?" Laura asks, reaching for her wallet.

"There are one me," The bartender smiles. Seriously, this girl was killing Laura right now.

Laura nervously rubs the back of her neck, "No, I couldn't ask you to do that."

"What if I want to?"

"Are you sure?" Laura presses.

"You sure are stubborn, cupcake. Don't sweat it." The bartender hands the group their drinks, and watches as Laura throws back her shot like a pro. She overhears the two redheads say they're going to go sign up for speed dating and they walk away leaving Laura to her own devices. And boy, did that make her nervous. "Anything else I can get you?"

"Yeah, you can get me out of here," Laura says, the slight sarcasm dripping from her voice.

"Not a fan of speed dating, huh?"

"Not a fan of being set up with strangers." Laura corrects.

"Well, so we're not strangers anymore, my name's Carmilla." Carmilla flashes another smile at Laura that makes her want to die on the inside. She seriously… She can't even think.

"Laura," Laura tells Carmilla, pressing her lips together, "And if you're offering, I'll take anything that's strong and can get me through the night without jumping off of a cliff."

"Well, we wouldn't want you jumping off any cliffs, I don't think I would be able to save you from that one, but four more shots of whiskey, coming right up." Carmilla jokes. "Kidding, but I can imagine your discomfort."

Laura goes to reply, but feels a tap on her shoulder. She looks behind her to find Perry, wide eyed grinning at her and gesturing excitedly towards the speed dating area. Laura looks at Carmilla, then at Perry, then back to Carmilla, excusing herself as she and Perry make their way over to LaFontaine.

"Okay, here's your name tag," LaF says. "And uhm, try not to bite any heads off."

 _Tonight was going to be a long night._

 **XXX**

It's 20 minutes into speed dating and so far, it's a bust. Laura is waiting awkwardly for the bell to ding and for the girl in front of her to move on. She was in no way the least bit interested in someone who constantly parties and goes to raves. Laura's way too much of a nerd for that scene.

The bell dings and Laura instantly thanks God. She gives LaF and Perry an angry look before turning back around to find Carmilla sitting in front of her.

"I totally just kicked some girl out of your chair so I could talk to you. I hope that's okay…" Carmilla says nervously.

"No, no… it's totally cool. Thank you." Laura replies, smiling at the beautiful creature in front of her.

"You looked like you were super uncomfortable most of the night." Carmilla says, her eyes instantly going wide, "I mean, not that I was intently watching you or anything…"

"Would it be a bad thing if you were?" Laura questions.

"You tell me, cutie. I'm just the bartender, people watching is what I do." Carmilla shrugs. "Luckily for you, this is the last round. So… I guess, tell me about yourself?"

"Okay… well, I'm 19 and I go to Silas University. I moved here from Canada. I have an extremely overprotective father. And I don't know. I like film journalism? I do have a question for you, though." Laura says as she takes a deep breath in.

"Shoot," Carmilla replies instantly.

"The whole 'cutie' and 'cupcake' thing… Is that how you get all the girls? Use your charm on them?" Laura doesn't even know why the question crossed her mind, but it did.

"Why, is it working?" Carmilla asks back, leaning in closer to the tiny brunette.

When Carmilla does this, Laura forgets how to breathe properly. She wonders if this is all just a game to Carmilla, something that she does with all girls that come into the bar. She goes to say something, but comprehensible words don't come out of her mouth.

"Well, I… Uh… you know… no…" She spits out, "I mean, I just… I don't know why I asked that."

"Don't sweat it, Laura." Carmilla says and Laura takes in how her name sounds coming from Carmilla.

The bell rings signaling the end of the last speed dating round and Laura almost wishes it hadn't ended. She was enjoying talking to Carmilla and had to admit to herself that the speed dating wasn't all that bad. If she got anything out of it, it was a conversation from an incredibly gorgeous bartender.

"Well, I guess that's our cue to go…" Laura says, trailing off. She looks for Perry and LaFontaine, but they're nowhere to be found. "Seeing as they probably left the bar already…"

"I guess so…" Carmilla replies reluctantly. "Hey, Laura?"

"Yeah?"

"Uhm… I was just wondering…" Carmilla pauses, the nervousness taking over.

"You were just wondering?" Laura questions, raising an eyebrow.

"Did you want a water to go?" Carmilla spits out, internally slapping herself for not asking what she really wanted to. _Way to blow it, Carm._

"Yeah, sure. I'm kind of burning up in here." Laura replies with a smile. _Yeah, burning up for you…_

The two get up from their seats and walk over to the bar together. Carmilla hops over the counter and grabs a bottle of water from the fridge, handing it to the short brunette. Carmilla looks behind Laura to see the ginger duo standing behind her, trying to get Laura's attention. "Well, I'll see you around, cupcake." Carmilla smirks as she gestures towards Laura's friends.

"Yeah, around." Laura barely mumbles before waving goodbye to Carmilla and walking towards the pair.

"So, how was it?" LaFontaine asks as they walk out of the bar together.

"It was a lot better than I imagined… But yeah, let's never do that again." Laura demands.

"I saw you talking to that cute bartender. Did you get her number?" Perry pipes in.

"No…" Laura replies sadly. "But there's plenty of reasons for us to come back to this bar to potentially bump into her, right?" _Keep dreaming, Hollis. That girl was way far out of your league. She was just being a friendly bartender._

Perry and LaFontaine look at each other with concerned looks on their face. "Uh, sure, Laura. You're absolutely right."

* * *

 **And the mystery continues... NEXT CHAPTER!**


	2. II: Missing

**Title:** A Glimpse Of Bliss  
 **Rating:** M  
 **Summary:** Laura Hollis is your average, college girl. She doesn't think she'll ever make a difference or change the world. That is, until she meets Carmilla Karnstein, an alluring bartender who mysteriously disappears one night. Human AU  
 **A/N:** My somewhat girlfriend gave me strep, so I figured I'd update. The next installment is coming soon! This one is just kind of a filler. 

* * *

It's been a few days since Laura had been to the bar. She had been extremely busy trying to avoid Danny in every way possible. Danny was a part of the Summer Society, and they were currently taking over campus for an event, so Laura has been scurrying to class and trying to stay under the radar as best as possible.

Her mind hasn't strayed far from the thought of Carmilla all week, and it was seriously getting to her that the mysterious bartender was so alluring. But she was excited because she was finally confident enough to go back to the bar and hopefully see Carmilla and potentially get her number or you know… Perry and LaFontaine decided to sit this one out, so Laura was going solo. There was this nervousness that she couldn't shake, but she promised herself that she would do her best not to make a gigantic fool of herself.

Laura arrives at the bar and her eyes are instantly scanning for the raven haired bartender. Laura spots her at a table, anxiously swirling a straw in her drink. Laura holds her breath, contemplating whether or not she should bother Carmilla. She decides to be bold and walks over to the table.

"Hey." She states bluntly.

Carmilla's eyes avert from her drink to the short brunette, and she sends Laura a small smile. "Hey, stranger."

Laura notices something off about Carmilla, but she doesn't want to bring it up, so she stays silent.

"You're probably wondering what's wrong." The bartender says softly, before slightly laughing. "I can see it in your eyes."

"I didn't want to pry… I just saw you and I wanted to say 'hi'." Laura replies.

"Don't worry, you're not prying. Please, if you're not busy or expecting anyone, sit." Carmilla gestures toward the empty chair across the table. Laura complies and sits down, facing Carmilla. Laura presses her lips together, eyes looking around the room, feeling slightly out of place. "I, uh…" Carmilla speaks up, "I just… I thought I saw someone from my past."

Laura shifts uncomfortably in her chair. "Like an ex?" Laura watches as Carmilla shrugs. "I'm sorry to hear that." Laura doesn't really know what else to say, so she just stays silent again after she speaks.

"It's okay. I could have been hallucinating. Maybe it wasn't her." Carmilla sighs, as she continues swirling her drink.

"Uhm…" Laura stutters, "Well, if it's any consolation, I have to see my ex every day." Laura's trying to relate to Carmilla, but she doesn't feel as though she's doing a great job.

"Heh, thanks… I guess?" Carmilla looks at Laura, noticing the brunette shifting around uncomfortably in her chair. "Enough of that, though. What are you doing here by yourself? Where's the Ginger Pow Wow?"

"They sat this one out. I guess you could say that I just really needed a night away from campus." Laura sighs.

"I feel you," Carmilla relates, "I could use a night away from this whole town, to be honest with you." Carmilla replies.

"Well, maybe we could. I can definitely use some time away from here, too." Laura hints shyly.

"We could," Carmilla draws out, "But… Not tonight. I have to go to this stupid work party in about…" Carmilla glances at her watch and looks back up at Laura. "Thirty minutes."

"I'll take a raincheck?" Laura says hopefully.

"I would really like that." Carmilla smiles. She hands her phone to Laura, and Laura does the same. They exchange numbers before Carmilla speaks up. "Well, Laura, I suppose I have to get going. I'll call you, soon, I promise."

Laura smiles before nodding. "I can't wait."

 **XXX**

Laura's been waiting for Carmilla to call for the last week. She hadn't had time to go to the bar to see if the raven-haired girl who captured her attention was there. Laura was growing anxious, but she didn't want to bother Carmilla by calling her.

"Laura, you've been staring at your phone every ten seconds…" LaFontaine says, worried.

"It's just, she promised she'd call soon and she hasn't even texted me back since the night that she went to the party. I'm worried." Laura sighs.

"She could just be busy, you don't know anything about her personal life and what she does when she's not bartending." LaFontaine tries to explain.

"I'm just going to call her." Laura says, putting her foot down. She picks up her phone and finds Carmilla's name, pressing the phone icon to dial the number. She puts the cell up to her ear and waits.

As soon as it connects, it goes straight to voicemail. _"The person you are trying to reach is unavailable. Please leave a message after the tone."_

Laura hears the beep and exhales loudly. "Hey, Carmilla. I really don't want to bother you, but I'm hoping you're okay… You know, since we haven't talked since last week. Well, uhm, yeah. Call me when you get this. Okay, bye."

"It didn't even ring, and it went to voicemail. Something doesn't feel right, Laf… We need to go to the bar. Grab Perry." Laura rushes.

"Laura… I thought we ended this phase after the last time we played detective and almost got Kirsch killed…" LaFontaine tries explaining.

"LaFontaine, please… Just do this for me." Laura pleads.

"Okay… PERRY!" LaFontaine screams. They hear Perry rushing down the stairs, looking flustered as she enters the living room. "Laura wants to play detective again."

"No. No way. The last time Kirsch nearly got killed and then you got in that fight with Danny and there was blood all over our kitchen floor and I had to clean it!" Perry rants.

 **XXX**

Twenty minutes later, the trio was at the bar; LaFontaine and Perry being dragged by Laura. The short brunette was determined to figure out what exactly was going on, and nothing was going to stop her until she found the truth.

Laura marches right up to the bar, staring directly at the bartender who she has never seen before.

"Is there a manager I can talk to?" Laura asks sternly.

"That would be me," The blonde girl says, leading Laura and the ginger duo to the back room. "I'm Betty. How can I help you lovely ladies?"

"You have a bartender that works here, I was just wondering, if you've seen her recently? Her name is Carmilla." Laura bites her lip, hoping that Betty has some good news.

"Ah, yes… Miss Karnstein. No, we haven't seen her since the work party. She showed up and we saw her for about an hour before she just appeared to have left. She hasn't been into work since. We've been really worried about her and we've been trying to get a hold of her… But she can be that way. Carmilla's known for disappearing for a couple days at a time, but not for that long." Betty explains.

"She's known for disappearing?" Laura questions, confused.

"Yeah, but she always came back. This time we're a little worried. It's been a full week." Betty says.

"Can you tell me anything that you remember at all from the party that may have been off?" Laura asks.

"Well, there was this girl. Carmilla looked like she saw a ghost when she saw her. She had blonde hair and she was wearing a white dress." _I wonder if this was the ex that Carmilla thought she saw the other night… but that wouldn't explain her disappearance._

"Does she have any family that you could contact?"

"No, none. When she applied for the position here, she said she had either lost all contact with her family, or they had all died. She said she had nothing and no one." Betty sighs. "I hope she's okay."

"Yeah, me too…" Laura sympathizes. "I'll let you know if I figure anything out."

"Are you some sort of detective?"

"No… I'm a film journalist. I dealt with a few disappearances last year, but uhm, I don't have a cool badge or anything. But my friends and I are pretty good at solving things that seems to go bump in the night here, so we'll do our best." Laura says confidently.

 _Carmilla, please tell me you left a sign… something, anything. Help me find you._

* * *

 ** _Next Chapter coming soon!  
Also, I made a twitter account so you guys could stay updated for both of my Fics... Or if you simply want to ask me questions and maybe get spoilers :P  
_**

 ** _Follow me!  
versusthequeer_**


	3. III: A Lead

**Title:** A Glimpse Of Bliss  
 **Rating:** M  
 **Summary:** Laura Hollis is your average, college girl. She doesn't think she'll ever make a difference or change the world. That is, until she meets Carmilla Karnstein, an alluring bartender who mysteriously disappears one night. Human AU  
 **A/N:** Sorry this took so long. New Chapter, yay! And also, I'm about to be juggling three stories, school, and work... So it'd be best to check my Twitter ( versusthequeer) for updates. IF a lot of you are tumblr users, tell me, and I will make a tumblr for all of my stories. :)

* * *

Laura has no idea where to begin. She feels daft for even wanting to search for a missing person, but this wasn't just any missing person. This was Carmilla, and there was just something about her that made Laura feel to need to at least try, whatever the cost.

Perry and LaFontaine were skeptical, at best, but Laura needed their help. She remembered the time that her previous girlfriend, Danny, went missing sometime last year and the trio had to go searching for her. They had found out that the Zetas had captured her for some unknown reason (besides the Summer Society and the Zetas having bad blood). Ultimately, they used Wilson Kirsch to help them and the Zetas nearly killed one of their own brothers. Needless to say, they hoped no one nearly dies this time.

Betty, Carmilla's boss, had taken the 'detectives' to the last known address that Carmilla had given to her when applying for her bartending job. Laura looked around the area surrounding in disbelief; it looked like a barren wasteland.

"Are you sure this is right?" Laura asks Betty, her eyebrow raising.

"Yeah, I'm sure. We've dropped her off before…" Betty says, shocked by how different the outside of Carmilla's house looks.

"I mean… Should we go knock?" LaFontaine asks.

They all nod and walk down the pathway that led to the front door. Laura lifts her hand and knocks once, the door creaking open as soon as her knuckles tap the wood. Laura looks back at the group before cautiously pushing the door open further, looking around to make sure nothing or no one comes at her. After she's made sure the coast is clear, she steps into the house, a chill brushing across her face.

"Laura, look!" LaFontaine exclaims as she stands in the doorway. She's pointing to the door frame. "The latch bolt is completely extended, but the strike plate has been completely torn out of the wall. Someone broke into her house while it was locked."

"Guys," Perry chimes in, "As much as I _**love**_ playing detective with you, I have really bad feelings about entering her house any further than the entry way. What if the cops come? We could get arrested and I cannot deal with how dirty prison is. It's one thing that we saved Danny from the Zetas, though I don't know how she was in direct danger, but this is a serious missing persons case. The authorities should handle it."

"That's all fun and well," Betty speaks up, "But we reported her as a missing person, and the authorities haven't done anything. They told us that because she lives by herself and has zero communication with her immediate family, that they weren't going to 'stress themselves out over someone who likes to disappear'."

"What do you mean, 'Someone who likes to disappear'?." Laura questions.

"They told me that according to their records, Carmilla has been bouncing around from city to city, country to country for the last three years and that has never had any permanent address known. They pretty much said that because she never stays in the place too long, that it wasn't worth looking into. They think she just upped and left." Betty explains.

"That's… terrible police work. Well, I say we go in and look for clues."

"Okay, Daphne…" Perry scoffs. "Laura, something bad happened here. I'm sure the authorities will listen now!"

"Perry, I get that you're not into this whole helping Laura play detective thing, but it doesn't seem like the authorities take this seriously." LaFontaine says, patting Perry on the back. "I'm going to agree with Laura. Let's just see if there's anything we can use to our advantage."

The four walk into the house and start looking for clues, being careful not to touch anything unless it sticks out as being way too odd. They get through the first level of the house with nothing, not even a disturbance except for the front door. Their next stop is the basement. Laura is very on edge as they go downstairs and it may be from all the horror movies Danny used to make her watch. She feels like someone's just going to pop out and she has to fight the urge to roundhouse kick them in the throat. As they're searching the basement, Laura stumbles across something meaningful.

"Guys!" Laura calls out, "Uhm… I think I found blood."

Perry, LaFontaine, and Betty all run over to where Laura was standing.

"LaF, use your phone's flashlight and see if what I'm looking at is really what I think it is…" Laura's shaking and LaFontaine turns on their phone's flashlight and shine it on the dark puddle on the ground.

"Shit, Laura…" LaFontaine says, "We need to call authorities."

 **Two hours later  
** The Styrian police force finally showed up after a long wait. Laura, LaFontaine, Perry, and Betty were all sitting outside of Carmilla's house, head in their hands. After the discovery of the blood, they decided that it was best to leave. They hadn't come across any other clues before Laura's discovery, and if you thought Laura was freaking out before, now she is dismantled.

The police tape off the house and start asking them questions, to which they answered honestly.

"So, why were you in Miss Karnstein's residency?" One of the officers asks.

"Well, we came over to check on her, she hasn't been at work in a week. The door wasn't even fully closed, so we went in to see if something had happened to her. That's when Laura found the blood," Betty states.

"And what is your relationship with the potential victim?" The officers asks while raising an eyebrow.

"She's a friend." Laura replies.

"Okay… Miss… uh…"

"Hollis."

"Okay, Miss Hollis, do you have any reason to believe that there was foul play involved?" The officer presses.

"No, I didn't know Carmilla THAT well. We had just met recently. The last time any of us have heard from her is a week ago." Laura replies, a bit irritated.

"Did she, to your knowledge, have any enemies?"

"Not that she told me about, and not that I could see. She did mention an ex, but wrote it off pretty quickly."

"Thank you for the information," The officer says sarcastically. "We'll contact you if we figure anything out. But for right now, I think it'd be best if you guys left."

 **One Week Later  
** Laura had heard nothing from the SPF about the blood in Carmilla's house, and still nothing from Carmilla. The more the days pass, the more Laura wished she could do something. Laura hasn't dared to go back to Carmilla's now that the authorities are involved. She doesn't know what more she can do than wait, but she was sick and tired of waiting.

Carmilla's phone was still shut off, so there was no luck in attempting to trace her. Laura was running out of options fast and it was all hitting her like a ton of bricks. They needed some sort of lead, with or without the police.

"Hey, Laura?" LaFontaine says as they knock lightly on the brunette's door. "I found something out."

"Come in," Laura replies as she sighs. LaFontaine enters her room and Laura looks over at her friend, who had a big smile on their face. "What did you find?"

"Well, I may have snagged a sample of the blood from Carmilla's crime scene." Laura's eyes go wide at this confession. "I tested it and it's not her blood, it's animal blood. And it looks like it was placed there to throw anyone looking for her off, making them believe she was dead."

"Oh thank god," Laura breathes out, "But that means…"

"That either Carmilla doesn't want to be found, or someone has her. Either way, we have nothing to go on." LaFontaine sighs. "There has to be something…"

"Yeah, well the police won't let us near her house right now, so I don't know what you want me to do, LaF… I wish that there were, but I just don't know what." Laura rubs her eyes. "I'm so exhausted."

"Maybe you should get some sleep." LaFontaine suggests.

"I can't. I feel like there is something we're missing, but I can't figure it out. Come on, Carm…" Laura says as she thinks of any clues Carmilla may have left.

She picks up her phone and looks at the last few text messages they had exchanged.

 **Carmilla  
Received 22:01 - **_This party is such a bust. I wish I could just leave and come hang out with you, instead. It sounds way better._

 **Sent 22:05 -** _You and me, both. I'm supposed to be doing homework, but that's not happening…_

 **Received 22:09 -** _You should probably get on that. I would know, my last years of high school were terrible because I never did any of that shit._

 **Sent 22:11 -** _Ugh, Canadian high school was such a drag. Styrian college is proving to be just as terrible._

 **Received 22:15 -** _Trust me, where I'm from, high school was a fucking joke._

 **Sent 22:17 -** _And where is the mysterious bartender from?_

 **Received 22:20 -** _Don't laugh, but I'm from some small city in Nebraska called Grand Island. My parents sent me to a Catholic school there. Definitely not my scene._

 **Sent 22:23 -** _I don't think I could ever picture you in a Catholic school uniform…_

 **Received 22:26 -** _It was pretty horrendous. But I left Nebraska a few years ago. Best decision ever._

 **Sent 22:29 –** _Any particular reason why?  
_ **Sent 22:29 –** _Sorry, I don't mean to pry._

 **Received 22:31 –** _You're not prying, but my ex, Ell, the one I thought I saw earlier… Well, shit went down and let's just say I needed to get away._

 **Sent 22:34 –** _You can tell me about it another time. I really need to get to this project. I'll talk to you later?_

 **Received 22:36 –** _Of course, cupcake. Wouldn't want you to fall behind. I'll probably be seeing you soon, if I don't die of boredom from this party._

 **Sent 22:38 –** _Yeah, try not to die, please._

 **Received 22:41 –** _Only because you said 'please', cutie. Have a good night, Laura._

 **Sent 22:45 –** _You, too, Carmilla :)_

After re-reading the text messages, a lightbulb sparks in Laura.  
 _"Well, there was this girl. Carmilla looked like she saw a ghost when she saw her."_  
Laura had suspected that that may have been the ex, but completely spaced that she knew the name of that supposed ex. Laura wonders if Ell could be the missing link to her missing person.

"LaFontaine, I think we need to take a trip to the United States…" Laura says.

"Why there?" LaFontaine asks.

"Because… I think I may have a lead."


End file.
